The Earth Science Picture of the Day (EPOD) highlights the diverse processes and phenomena which shape our planet and our lives. EPOD will collect and archive photos, imagery, graphics, and artwork with short explanatory captions and links exemplifying features within the Earth system. The community is invited to contribute digital imagery, short captions and relevant links.

Rainbow Over Nordlingen, Germany

The panorama above shows a modest rainbow arching over Nordlingen, Germany as viewed late in the day on October 19, 2011. Regardless of how far or near a primary rainbow appears, its width is always approximately two degrees, and it always appears at an angle of about 42 degrees about the antisolar point.

Nordlingen is located in southern Germany, in the middle of the Nordlinger Ries, an impact meteor crater that's estimated to be 50 million years old. In order to take this picture, I positioned myself at the top of the "Daniel," a 230 ft (70 m) tall church steeple in the center of town. Note its shadow in the foreground.